Nail.



PATENTED MAY 5, 1908.

No. 886,980. i

W. BURNER.

, NAIL. AVPPLIOATION P ILED MAR. 30, 1907.

NVENTOH ZZZzjfor/Jer Eyman/ra A TTOHNEYS citizen of the United States, and a resident of WILLIAM HoaNEa, or REEDCITY, MICHIGAN.

c 4NAIL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed Marck- 80, 1907.V Serial No. 365,472,

Patented May 5, 190,8.

Td att fwhom it may concern:

vBe it known that I, WILLIAM HORNER, a

.. Reed City, in the county of Osceola and State single nail; and

of Michi an, have invented a new and Improved ail, oli-which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

'This invention relates to certain improvements in nails, and more articularly to that type of nail especially esigned for use in blind nailing through 'the tongue of matched boards used for floorings, ceilings and the like, and the object of the invention is to provide a nail which willnot split the wood, which is rigidly heldin a pro er relationship to the grain of the wood, an lwhich may be readily driven intoplace so as not to intertere with the edge ofthe next adjacent board. In the present practice it is customary to rovide matched iiooring with a series of holes' adjacent the tongue, whereby the liability of splitting the boards when they are nailed in -place is Inatenially4 reduced, but eventhen the 'boards are often s lit` or cracked and a snu t with the a jacent boardl is prevente Furthermore," 'when holes are bored in a flooring it often hap ens that no one of the holes comes directly a ove a joist, and in order to pro erly hold the flooring in plac, .nails must e driven into the joist irres ective of the -holes prepared in advance'for t e nails. j

According to my invention all Wedging effect in the wood roduced` by the driving of the nail is in a irection lengthwise of the grain rather than crosswise, and the nail is provided with means whereby it is `auto- .matically brought to the proper position before it is driven.-

Reference'is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate 'corresponding parts in all the iigures, and in which j Figure 1 is a transverse section through a portion of flooring secured in place by my irnproved nails; Fie. 2. is a side elevation of la Ilhg. 3 is an elevation similar to Fig; 2, but taken at right anglesl thereto.

My .improved nail com rises a body portion 10, preferably cylin rical in cross section and differing in no essential particular yfrom the body of an ordinary wire nail. The

point end of the nail instead of being brought to a sharp point as is customary in wire na1ls,

l terminates in a sharp edge 11 o'la width equal to the fulll diameter of the nail and diametrically disposed in relation thereto, this edge bey ing formed at the intersection of two opposite wedge surfaces 12.' vAs the nailis driven into the wood, the ed e'11 is placed acrossthe grain thereof, so tI at the wedging action as the nail is driven in is entirely lengthwise of the grain. In order to insurea proper placl of the nail in respectvto the grain, I 'roevi e a thin wing or feather 13 .dispose at right angles to the edge 11 and extending to a distancebeyond the edge of the same sub 1,

stantially equal to one-half the diameter of the nail body. The Wing or feather 13 is of a Width e ual to the diameter of the nail and is made oii no greater thickness than is necessary to secure the desired rigidity.

As previously stated, .my im roved'nail is especially ada ted for use in t Ie blind -nail ing of matche boards, and in Fig. 1 I havel illustrated two such boards 1 4, 1.4, secured in `lace toa joist or other suitable support '15.

ach board is provided with a tongue 16 in one edge -thereoi4 adapted for insertion in a corresponding groove 1'7 in the edge of the next adjacent board. In securing such Vboardsin lace it is customary to drive the I nails into t e edge directl above the tongue 16, as is indicated in the rawings. In using my improved nail, the nail is placed with the pomt end in the groove and as the ieatheror wing 13 extends beyond the edge 11 bf the nail, the nail automatically comes to a position in which the Wing or feather lies longitudinally of the line of intersection of the tongue and-body of the board. 1 This brings the cutting edge 11 at right angles to the grain of the wood, and as the nail is driven into place'tlie wing is alwa s in advance of the cutting edge and to lows the grain of the wood, so that the rotationoi the nail While it is being driven is positively prevented.

The head end 18 of the nail is preferably rectangular in cross section, its diameter parallel to the cutting edge 11 being substantially e ual to the diameter ofthe body ofthe nail, while' -its diameter arallel -to the wing or feather 13 is somewii indicated in 2 and 3. By so constructin the nail an enlarged head is formed, but

al ofthe enlargiement is so disposed in respect to the gui ing wing or 'feather 13 that A t e wedging effectproduced asit enters the SI1( at greater, as is clearly wood is eisoiongitdina-i oi' the grain and does not tend to oduee any splitting efieet.

1n order t et the neii may be driven. into piace to e suiieient distance to prevent its 'interfering vvitii the edge oi thenezit adje cent hoard, i provide the fee-e of the heed oi' the neil with e ii-shaped groove igrunning in the direction of the greatest diameter oi the nail, and preferebiy substantie-ily right angular in form. As the neil is driven in ieee thisv groove 19 cornes parallel with the ine oiinterseotion of the tongue end the body of the boord, so that Awhen the neil is driven in Hush with the surface it coincides with e snm-ii portion of the upper surface oi' the tongue and the end surface of the board.

` This grr'iove eiso ieoiiitetes the use oi e, neil Atonguetiret 4there is liebiiity oi tirez set havingl en edge adapted to enter the groove end adopted to strook oy e harm rner to bring tire neii to tne proper no tion after the heed there-ot' cornes eo eioee to the eeeeeo ieee tending to prevent loosening of the nail by slight movements of the board.

Having thus described my invention claim as new end desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. [i neil having e. cutting edge substantieiiy equal in. length to the diameter of the neil., and having a guiding Wing or feather dienietrieeiiydisposed et ri ht en ies to Said cutting edge and extending eyon the seme.

2. A nali, comprising e body. ortion heving a outting edge, e feather ciarnetri'eeiiy die oeed et right angles to said cutting edge, eno e. head having a groove pereiiei to seid feether. Y

3. A adapted for use in connection with matched boards having eoeoting tongues and grooves, seid nail comprising a body portion terminating in e single outtin edge formed by tivo converging surfaces, en Ineens adept od to engage in the line of intersection of e tongue of e board and. the body of Seid board end in advance of the cutting edge of the neil ide said nail end bring seid cutting edge it engiee to Seid line of intersection. @in testimony whereof I have signed my neme to this specification in the presence of so two subscribing"Witnesses. l

i.'VHQLAM HORNEB.

fvitnessesz LOU B.'WINSOR,

SAM HORNER. 

